


Skeptic

by statuscrows



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Dubious Morality, M/M, Murder, Scopophobia, Spoilers through MAG 161, Unhealthy Relationships, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:49:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/statuscrows/pseuds/statuscrows
Summary: "The Institute serves a being variously known as: The Eye, It Knows You, The Beholding, The Ceaseless Watcher—"Jon stops the tape. "Thank you, Gertrude. That's more than enough of that."(Or: Jon finds Gertrude's tape on his first day of work. He doesn't really buy it.)
Relationships: Elias Bouchard/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 20
Kudos: 119





	Skeptic

"This is completely unnecessary," Jon says for the third time on the stairs that lead into the Archive. "I'm not new here, I know where the Archive is and I know where my new desk will be."

"Oh, I agree," Elias says, keeping up with his somewhat brisk pace, "but I like the ceremony of welcoming you to your new domain. And I was looking forward to dramatically handing you a couple new keys and wishing you luck."

"Yes, well—" Jon pauses, standing at the entrance of the Archive. Sasha had warned him that Gertrude had an unconventional organization system during her time as Head Archivist, but he hadn't realized that she was being polite. The place is a mess.

He wonders if Elias came along to keep him from bolting at the sight of the place or to see how he reacted. He doesn't quite feel comfortable enough with his boss to accuse him of the latter, though it's what he assumes from his slightly amused expression.

Elias gestures him inside. "After you," he says, and Jon inexplicably pictures a condemned man being walked to the gallows. He pushes the thought aside and enters the Archive.

Elias is of course friendly and professional when leaving him down in the pits of the Institute among the criminally incompetent organization of an old woman. He makes himself available if Jon has any questions.

Jon puts his bag down and does his best to settle in. That immediately becomes a problem when he realizes that the outlet nearest to his desk is broken and the other one is keeping the only comfortable light source on. At least his laptop has decent battery life.

Among the other inconveniences Jon can note: there seems to be nothing but loose scraps of paper covering his work space, his rolling chair is stuck in its current position which is far too low to the ground, and there seems to be a spiderweb under his desk.

"Fantastic," Jon says dryly, staring at the web from his un-adjustable rolling chair. He grabs a roll of paper towels from the breakroom, returning Tim's 'mornin', new boss!' with a grunt before returning to his desk.

It's an unpleasant task but it doesn't take long to clean out the web. As he's wiping out the last of it he notices something in the corner. A brief surge of discomfort hits him when he considers the possibility of it being a massive cocoon but jamming the lamp under the desk reveals it to be an old tape recording, crudely strapped there. Jon pries the thing free and examines it.

The little plastic case reads, "For the new Archivist".

How quaint, Jon thinks. A welcome from his new employees.

He drops the tape into a desk drawer to deal with later.

Soon enough it becomes clear that despite the availability of modern technology, his laptop is all but useless in the Archive and for whatever reason tape recorders are the best method of keeping records.

"The Institute seems to like them," Elias says unhelpfully when Jon asks. "We don't get any of the distortions that modern equipment tends to have."

Jon thought hiring a decent IT specialist would make more sense than using antiquated recording devices but keeps that to himself.

He rediscovers the tape left under his desk a few days later when he's looking for a pen. To his immense discomfort he finds there's a web covering it. He hasn't seen any spiders in the Archive but he'll try to bring it up with Elias at some point.

For some reason he fumbles the tape twice trying to get it into the recorder. Jon decides he probably needs a coffee break.

" _Right. If you’re listening to this, then it is likely that._.." begins the unfamiliar voice of an old woman. " _No. Let’s not beat around the bush. If you’re listening to this, it means I’m dead. And you have been chosen to be my replacement as Head Archivist_."

That's one way to welcome your new boss, Jon thinks. He lets the tape play and continues trying to organize the statements on his desk.

" _Before I continue: It is very important to be absolutely clear this is not a joke_..." Gertrude says.

"A statement from 1994 paperclipped to an unrelated statement from 1898," Jon mumbles, looking the statements over. Beyond the superficial references to meat there doesn't seem to be anything connecting them. There's a receipt attached at the top for a butcher shop dated 2014. The credit card information is Gertrude's. Whatever that means.

" _You will also be unable to relinquish the position or quit the Institute, finding you are supernaturally compelled to remain_ ," Gertrude says.

"I wish you'd been supernaturally compelled to use a stapler on occasion," Jon says. He tries to staple Gertrude's documents together and immediately finds the stapler is empty. "Hm."

Jon leaves the tape running while he picks up a box of staples from an extremely disordered supply closet. Gertrude is still talking when he gets back.

" _The Institute serves a being variously known as: The Eye, It Knows You, The Beholding, The Ceaseless Watcher_ —"

Jon stops the tape. "Thank you, Gertrude. That's more than enough of that."

Jon doesn't think about Gertrude's tape again until about a month later, when a statement comes across his desk from a person predicting her death. The statement is a little unsettling given how little Elias has said about her disappearance and taken with the tape it leaves him uncomfortable.

He drops Gertrude's tape again almost as soon as he takes it out. Jon wonders at that. He's hardly clumsy and hasn't had a similar accident since he started at the archive.

He continues the tape from where he left off.

" _It is the fear of being watched, and judged_ ," Gertrude says, " _And having all your secrets known_..."

Jon starts to organize his desk while he listens but soon finds his attention uncharacteristically wandering. Yes, the tape is most likely the work of an old woman's imagination, but he's given attention to things that sounded much more insane. He puts down the papers in his hand and makes himself focus on Gertrude’s words.

He's a little alarmed when her statement takes a turn for what sounds to be domestic terrorism. Was this recorded years ago by some batty old woman who saw an intelligent entity behind every idiot's ghost sighting, or had she made it right before her death, trying to burn the Institute down?

"Sasha," he asks later, "did you know Gertrude well?"

Sasha looks away from the statements she's organizing long enough to cast a curious glance in his direction. "A little? She was an awfully private person. Why do you ask?"

"She left an odd tape lying around—and the entire Archive in disarray. I was just wondering what kind of person she was."

"Hm." Sasha jams her pen through the top of her ponytail. "I couldn't say. She was quiet and kept to herself. She seemed to do her job well."

"Despite the mess?"

Sasha shrugs. "You know how sometimes your bedroom is really messy but you still know where everything is, even if it looks like a disaster zone to everyone else?"

"Not particularly. My bedroom is very organized."

"Oh yes, of course," Sasha says with just a tinge of humor. "But I'm sure the place made sense to Gertrude, even if it doesn't to anyone else."

"She didn't seem...senile to you, did she?"

Sasha huffs. "No way. We might not have talked much but I know she was sharp. I saw her doing a crossword puzzle once during her lunch break. She filled it out so fast I thought she must've had all the answers ahead of time. Gertrude might've been an older woman but her mind hadn't gone anywhere."

Jon nods. "Anything else odd about her? Unconventional religious beliefs, the occasional paranoid comment?"

"Um, no," Sasha says, side eyeing Jon a little bit. "She wasn't some schizophrenic, running loose from a retirement home. She was a harmless old woman who did her job in the way that best suited her."

A harmless old woman who'd planned to burn down the Institute. "Of course," Jon says. "You don't have to be crazy to be irritating."

"Exactly," Sasha says. If it sounds a little pointed, Jon ignores it. "What kind of tape did she leave you?"

"One making a lot of absurd claims about the supernatural and insisting that I was in danger."

"Did that mean she thought that she was also in danger? Jon, you might want to hand that over to the police. There might be something useful to help them figure out what happened to her."

"Indeed," Elias says. Both he and Sasha jump. Neither of them heard him enter. "That sounds very alarming."

"Jeez, Elias," Sasha says with a nervous laugh. "Wear a bell or something."

"Oh, sorry to startle you two," Elias says. "I just wanted to bring you the new artifact checkout forms. I would've had Rosie bring them down but what kind of boss stays cooped up in his office all day where his lovely employees can't see his face? Anyway, I couldn't help overhearing."

Clairvoyance, Gertrude had said. The ability to see out of any eye, real or symbolic.

"I-uh. Yes," Jon says, "I can do that. Hand the tape over to the police."

"Probably for the best," Elias says. The man who Gertrude thought was a 200-year-old mastermind who did Satanic rituals in his spare time. His mildly boring boss who hardly seemed to have ambitions higher than balancing budgets and didn't believe in the supernatural.

Occam's Razor, he thinks to himself. What was more likely: that he was the slave of an omniscient fear god and being used as part of some magical ritual, or that one quiet woman's senility had gone unnoticed?

"Right." Jon exhales, relaxing marginally. "I was planning to take a walk during my lunch break. I'll drop it off then. Sorry for bothering you, Sasha."

"Oh, not at all," Sasha says. "Happy to help."

Jon turns to leave. "But if any more of my colleagues turn out to be psychotic I'm—"

The words, the bitter threat he was going to make about quitting, catch in his throat. He swallows and tries again, feeling both Elias and Sasha's eyes on him. The words don’t form.

"Yes, Jon?" Elias asks. "Was there something else?"

"No. Never mind." Without turning back he leaves.

After several quiet minutes of panicking in the bathroom, of wondering if he's having a stroke or some other type of sudden onset aphasia, he says the words aloud.

"If any more of my colleagues turn out to be psychotic," he says quietly, "I'm going to quit."

The words come out easily, alone in the bathroom where there aren't any consequences. He doesn't doubt that the results will be different if he tries to say the words to Elias again.

Elias does pay him very well though, he thinks, and he likes having a job that doesn't require him to interact with people as much as working in the actual library would.

Supernaturally compelled, Jon thinks, rubbing his eyes. Could he not even trust himself to think rationally about his job? No, he _is_ being rational. Elias _does_ pay him a lot. That's just a fact.

Gertrude, for all her apparent incompetence and for all that insanity made much more sense, was right about at least one extremely vital thing. At the heart of the Institute was a genuine kernel of the supernatural. One that he was apparently bound to. 

Still a little shaky, Jon returns to his desk and plays the tape again.

.

Gertrude's tape says nothing about what may have happened to her and Jon doubts it will help the police when they hardly seem interested in solving her disappearance in the first place. However a faint worry sits in the back of his thoughts that if he hands the tape over to them it'll find its way to Elias, and Elias will hear everything that Gertrude's told him. And even though he can verify nothing she's said and every claim still rings of psychosis, he thinks perhaps he should keep it to himself.

Play ignorant and do your own research had been Gertrude's advice. It's not an unreasonable request.

With that in mind he plays the tape one final time, writing everything down of importance. When he's done he rewinds and hits record.

Gertrude's tape isn't long and is soon recorded over with the gentle sounds of typing and papers being moved around. After about an hour of recording, walking in and out of the room, and making miscellaneous office noises, Jon very sternly and clearly yells at "Martin" for leaving the tape recorder on.

"What's that Jon?" Martin says a few seconds later, sticking his head nervously into the Archive. Jon waves him away.

"Don't worry about it," Jon says. But Martin stays standing there, looking scared and nervous. "Actually, take this for a second."

"I'm sorry?" Martin says, moving closer to his desk. Jon holds out the tape silently until Martin takes it. "Okay?"

Jon takes the tape back. "Thank you, Martin. That will be all."

Jon hands the tape over to Detective Hussain during his lunch break, apologizing for his incompetent assistant potentially damaging evidence.

"There might still be fingerprints on it," Jon says with a shrug.

"Yes, I'm sure that'll dramatically help our investigation," Basira says, sounding deeply annoyed.

The Jurgen on Gertrude's tape, as unlikely as it should be, might be referring to Jurgen Leitner. The thought doesn't occur to him until the second time the name comes up in a statement and he isn't particularly happy to hear it. He doesn't like it but it seems like too much of a coincidence not to be him. From the out of context dialogue he'd heard before Gertrude had remembered to turn off the tape, he lived in the "tunnels".

“If Elias sees you” probably meant that Elias's clairvoyance didn't extend down into these "tunnels", and that he wasn't capable of seeing everything at once, which was convenient, if true. Then again, if Elias could see out of any eye he should've already known that Jon had been made aware of his clairvoyance. The fact that Elias is still acting completely normal around him suggests that she was probably mistaken.

Some very extensive after hours poking around helps him find the trapdoor that he assumes leads to the tunnels. It is however, locked.

The problem is that Elias has the key to whatever sits under the Institute. He's fairly certain Elias keeps all of his keys in the right-hand drawer of his desk, it's just a matter of waiting until he leaves the office long enough for Jon to slip in.

Some mild surveillance teaches him that Elias tends to eat lunch at his desk which means there's no guaranteed block of time when he'll be gone. He does take trips to the coffee machine to both stretch his legs and 'avoid the sugary swill Rosie insists on making’, as Elias put it once. He tends to grab his first coffee of the day around 9:30 which leaves Jon a few minutes to slip into his unlocked office and grab the key from his desk.

As soon as he shuts the drawer, Jon feels the sudden prickle of being watched, something he's been feeling often down in the Archives. He looks up and finds the office still empty and sighs to himself.

Elias however returns to his office sans-coffee at that moment, and Jon clenches his hand around the key to hide it.

"Jon," Elias says mildly. "This is a surprise."

"Yes, uh." He folds his hands behind his back. "I—sorry. I was waiting for you."

"I know I've said I have an Open Door Policy but I meant that I'm available if you need me, not that you should walk directly into my office as you see fit."

"Sorry, I can just go."

"No, I don't think so." Elias shuts the door behind him and Jon feels fear lance up his spine. "Not when you came all the way up here. Why don't you tell me what you want?"

"I was..." Jon says slowly, trying to get his brain to work once more. "Going to ask you..."

"Yes?" Elias prompts, eyes still sharp and focused on him. There's no way he can get out without being seen. He finds himself thinking about Gertrude's "retirement" again. At her dying "in the line of duty" as Elias had put it.

He wonders if that meant she'd gotten in Elias's way.

"Well?" Elias asks, stepping forward, and panic finally loosens Jon's throat.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me," Jon says.

Elias's unflinching gaze ends in a single startled blink. He stares at Jon with genuine shock for a moment before he begins to laugh. He raises a hand to his mouth as one brief, undignified snort of laughter leaves him. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, right," Jon says quickly. He considers confessing everything just to escape his own embarrassment. Or jumping out Elias's window. "Stupid. That was a stupid idea. Forget I said anything."

"Oh no, no, no Jon," Elias says, clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. His entire face is lit up with delight. "I think that's a _marvelous_ idea. Where are you taking me?"

"Ah—what?"

"The place you wanted to take me for this date you had planned," Elias says. Jon shakes his head numbly. "Didn't think that far ahead? That's no problem, I know plenty of excellent date spots."

"Wait, hold on, you're agreeing? To get dinner with me?"

"Well, yes. I'm not sure why you're so surprised. There were two potential responses to my being asked out and I'm giving you the favorable one. Congratulations."

"Isn't it a little unprofessional? For you to go out with one of your employees?"

Elias tilts his head upwards as though he's thinking deeply. "Yes, I suppose it is fairly unprofessional. Luckily I think the Head of the Institute won't mind. Would you like to fill out an Employee Fraternization Form first?"

Jon gapes at him. "God, is that a real thing?"

"Oh yes. I'm sure it came up in your employee handbook. Which I assume you consulted before you came to my office with the intention of asking me out."

"Um—"

"You always take your lunch breaks rather early," Elias continues, steamrolling any attempts to backtrack, "so I assume you'll be hungry enough when five o'clock rolls around. Why don't we get dinner as soon as work ends, hm?"

"That's uh—"

"Excellent," Elias says. He puts a hand on Jon's arm to steer him towards the door. Jon makes sure to keep his right hand out of sight as subtly as he can. "I'll come find you after work."

"I suppose?"

"Good. Oh and Jon." His smile drops from a delighted grin to something more subtle and conspiratorial. "The next time you need something from me I suggest knocking."

The problem—the new problem at least—is that he's not at all sure that Elias didn't see him steal the key to the tunnels and isn't planning to murder him. It'd certainly felt like Elias was planning to when he walked in on Jon and now he's given Elias a much better opportunity to get away with it. If Gertrude is right about the things she said he certainly seems like the most likely candidate to have killed her. Killing another Archivist would hardly be much effort.

Jon doesn't much like the idea of ending up dead. Unfortunately his best assurance that he won't die is a mortifying ordeal in its own right.

"Sasha," Jon says, coming up to her desk. He tries to keep his voice low without being overly suspicious. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Is something the matter?" Sasha asks, looking immediately concerned. She hooks her foot around Martin's unoccupied chair and drags it closer to her desk. Jon takes the offered seat.

"No, I wouldn't say something is wrong per say," Jon says uncomfortably. He laces his fingers together in his lap. Sasha continues to radiate concern so Jon tries to hurry the conversation along. "If I were to tell you something very private could you avoid spreading it around with the rest of the office gossip?"

"I'm not a gossip, Jon," she says seriously. "If you need me to keep something a secret, I will. Now what is it?"

"I…may be going on a date. Tonight. With Elias."

"Oh god," Sasha says. She looks around the office like she thinks Tim or Martin might pop out from behind a corner somewhere and then leans forward. "I know I just told you I'm not a gossip but that's significantly more exciting and a lot less serious than I'd thought, and it would make for _delightful_ gossip."

"Sasha."

"Sorry, sorry. I just didn't know you—"

"Yes well." Jon stares intently down at his hands. "My predilections aren't really anyone's business."

"Of course not. I wasn't judging, Jon. Not for the dating a guy thing. But...our boss?" She laughs a little. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I probably don't," Jon mumbles. "I think the best-case scenario is that we both eat in awkward silence and then never mention it again. Kindly keep it to yourself.”

"I will do my damnedest. I'm surprised though. I knew Elias liked you but I didn't think he liked you _that_ much. He really asked you out?"

"Actually it was—you think he likes me?"

"Sure, he picked you as Archivist over me. And he called you an 'exemplary and very driven employee' the other day which is probably the equivalent of dirty talk for him."

"Do you think so?" Jon asks, wrinkling his nose.

"Probably. Plus, whenever you're in the room he stares at you like no one else is around. It's a bit unnerving actually."

Jon hasn't noticed that all. He's a little alarmed to find he's flattered despite every terrifying thing he knows and suspects about Elias.

"And why would he ask you out if he didn't like you at all?" Sasha asks.

"As I said he uh—he didn't ask me out." He lowers his voice slightly more. "I asked him out."

"Fuck," Sasha says, looking impressed and terrified. "Did you?"

"It was an accident."

Sasha laughs. "What do you mean an accident? Did you trip into his lap with two opera tickets magically manifested in your hands?"

"No, I just blurted it out like an idiot."

"Well, he definitely likes you then. I doubt he'd give anyone a pity date. Best of luck then, I guess?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm absolutely terrified," he admits honestly. Sasha pats him on the back.

"Not that I don't appreciate you sharing but why are you telling me this?" Sasha finally asks.

So when Elias kills me you know who did it, Jon thinks. "Just felt like telling someone," he says aloud.

The place Elias picks is close enough to Jon's apartment to be disconcerting. It's less than a ten-minute walk. Jon considers the possibility of this being a coincidence but puts little faith in that. He doesn't mention recognizing the place, or walking past it frequently, or how close he lives.

Shockingly enough dinner isn't awful. Elias smoothly carries the weight of the conversation with anecdotes about food and polite comments about the restaurants. He doesn't seem bothered by Jon's clear discomfort or how little he's talking.

He also orders for Jon.

"A little presumptuous," Jon says at that, watching their waiter leave.

"Did you want to order something else?" Elias asks, amused.

He did not. "I wouldn't have ordered the wine to go with it."

"I don't care to drink alone," Elias says.

The wine Elias ordered is red and very dry which suits Jon's tastes well enough. The food is also decent. That isn't to say that Elias isn’t going to murder him still, but taking him to a crowded restaurant with plenty of witnesses to them being together certainly decreased the likelihood. He and Elias exchange polite, date appropriate questions for the duration of dinner and Elias, unsurprisingly, picks up the check.

Bit of a control freak, Jon notes silently. Elias smiles at him.

"Would you like a ride home?" Elias asks outside the restaurant, which doesn't exactly confirm if he knows where Jon lives. Jon shakes his head.

"Thank you, but no. I can make it back just fine."

"Alright," Elias says. His eyes dart down to Jon's lips briefly and before Jon can process that he's being kissed.

It's dark out but they're still in the middle of the sidewalk in public. Elias doesn't try to kiss him for long and it's an innocent kiss, though his hand on Jon's elbow makes him feel _something_. A small child does however giggle from somewhere behind them. Jon ducks his head, separating their lips.

"I... " Jon clears his throat, "didn't think PDA was your thing."

Elias only leans forward again and presses a kiss to his forehead. "Thank you, Jon," he says. He sounds a little like he might laugh again, "for a truly entertaining evening."

Jon isn't entirely sure why he survived his evening with Elias. If he didn't want Jon dead yet then what did he get out of one mildly uncomfortable but extremely average date? Beyond the chance to watch Jon squirm and stutter his way through small talk?

"Morning," Sasha says the next day. "Got another statement for you."

"Thank you," Jon says, taking the file from her. Sasha unfortunately lingers after handing the documents over.

"I didn't die, did I?" Jon asks dryly.

“Fine, fine," Sasha says. "I didn’t want details anyway.”

Apart from some exceptionally heated staring from Elias in the breakroom, which he now notices thanks to Sasha pointing it out, the day is fairly ordinary. It's also a Friday which gives Jon the time to try out the key he stole.

On Saturday Jon grabs a flashlight and heads into the tunnels. It isn't exactly a pleasant trip: the place is dark and the layout doesn't make much sense. He's considering that maybe the trip is a dead-end when he finds an empty wine bottle in the middle of a cramped passageway.

He can't imagine a mindless supernatural entity drinking rosé.

"Leitner!" he yells through the tunnels. His voice echoes terribly through the dark winding corridors. "Jurgen Leitner! My name is Jonathan Sims! I'm the Archivist who took over after Gertrude! Will you talk to me?!"

When his echoes die down the tunnels are quiet once again. Except for the scuttling of insects.

"Right," he says in a more normal voice. "I'm not done with you, Jurgen."

It's late when he shuts the trapdoor. He didn't think to check the time before he went down there but it's well into the evening now. He stops by the breakroom with vague thoughts of foraging for snacks and finds Elias there, sitting on the couch.

"Hello there Jon," he says.

Jon barely holds in a startled yell. "What the hell, Elias!" he says, heart racing.

Elias raises an eyebrow at him. "I could say the same to you. I know you're a very proactive employee but coming in at 11:15 on a Saturday seems like a bit much. You didn't even fill out an overtime form."

"I uh," Jon says. "I've been having trouble—I forgot my uh."

"I'm sorry, would you like to try that excuse again? I can wait, I'm in no rush."

Jon feels his face heat up. "I couldn't sleep."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elias says, standing up. "But what does that have to do with the Institute?"

Before he can dig himself into a worse hole, Jon asks, "what are _you_ doing here this late?"

"It's _my_ Institute," Elias says with a possessive edge, the teasing leaving his voice. "Why shouldn't I roam the halls in the middle of the night? The place belongs to me, I'll do with it what I will."

"Right." He gives Elias a wide berth as he heads towards the door leading to the exits. "I'll just—I can leave then."

"Yes, you should do that." As he says it Elias grabs him by the arm, pulling him forward. Jon catches himself on Elias's chest a second before Elias cups his face and kisses him again.

It's not quite as polite as their last kiss, what with the hand in Jon's hair and the warm, liquid heat in his stomach, but it's not entirely unwelcome. He can't help being disappointed when Elias finally lets him go.

"Well," Elias says, "skulking around the Institute aside, it's very nice to see you."

It takes another week for Jon to work up the nerve to go into the tunnels again, and this time he's a little more prepared. He brings snacks, batteries, and chalk to help him find his way.

"Look, I know you're down here, Jurgen," he yells after nearly an hour of wandering. "I heard your voice on the tape Gertrude left me. She warned me about the Institute and about Elias. I need to know more if I don't want to end up dying 'in the line of duty'. And since you're hiding down here, presumably where Elias can't see you, I'm assuming you aren't friends with—"

"Please stop yelling," a voice says from the darkness. "Sound travels easily and quite frankly I'm not certain I'm the only one here."

"Jurgen Leitner?" Jon asks. He points his flashlight into the dark.

Leitner squints at the light in his face. "Yes. And from your damnable curiosity and determination to annoy me out of hiding, you're Elias's new Archivist."

"Unfortunately," Jon says.

Jurgen refuses to leave the tunnels but sits down with Jon and agrees to him recording their conversation. He's smaller than Jon imagined him being and significantly less impressive. He offers Jon some wine which he firmly declines.

"Do you know where Gertrude is?" Jon asks.

"You said a significant amount of her blood was found in the Archive?" Jurgen asks. Jon nods. "Seeing as the Institute is still standing I think it's fair to say she failed to burn it down. If she's gone missing I can only assume Elias killed her and hid her body somewhere."

"And by Elias you mean Jonah Magnus."

"Yes. That is his real name." Jurgen scratches his head, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "How long have you been the Archivist?"

"A few months."

Jurgen sighs. "That's not a very long time. And I'm certain that will make this much more difficult. You came for answers, right? To see if the things Gertrude told you are true?"

"Yes," Jon says eagerly. "I need to know."

"How much do you know so far?"

"I know about your books," Jon says. He reigns in his bitterness before he continues. "I know I can't quit this place and that I feel a certain sense of-of _reality_ about the statements I read, even when the subject matter feels absurd. And I know that I feel watched sometimes. In this place. Mostly when I'm reading statements but not always. And I damn near memorized everything Gertrude said on the tape she left me."

"That is...not very much," Jurgen says.

Jurgen tells him about Gertrude's entities in fairly vague terms and about having lived within the Institute's tunnels for nearly twenty years. When Jon asks how he's avoided detection he talks about his books and how reading phrases from them can make him invisible to Elias's clairvoyance. He also talks about rituals.

"The people who serve these entities want to end the world," Jon says nodding to himself. "So they can turn it into, what? Just one big fire? A ball of darkness? Seven billion graves? What then? What's the point?"

"Those who serve the dread powers gain strength from it as well. It may be their devotion to it or sadism..." he trails off with a sigh. "This is happening too soon for you." There's audible disappointment in his voice. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"That's not—I believe in the supernatural," Jon says. "I've seen it for myself. Here in this place and once when I was a child. I know there's _something_ going on in this building and I know Elias or Jonah, whatever he calls himself, is probably at the heart of it. It's just there's a bit of a jump from 'maybe my boss is involved in the supernatural' to 'the world is constantly on a cataclysmic precipice because of a bunch of fear gods'. In the hundreds of thousands of years that humans have existed, they've been constantly trying to end the world and constantly failing?"

"Gertrude stopped a handful of rituals on her own."

"Of course, thank god for one plucky old woman."

Jurgen sighs again. "The tape was a good idea on Gertrude's part. And at least you have time to figure it out for yourself. I doubt anyone can persuade you. You'll have to see it all for yourself."

"See what, these gods? The way they manifest? The Institute's specific god?"

"Again, to call them gods is an oversimplification, but yes. That's essentially correct."

"And you think Elias intends to perform the ritual for his god? The Eye?"

"Not exactly. You see, he already has."

Jon blinks. "What?"

"Down in the tunnels there's a prison," Jurgen says wearily. "A massive panopticon with a central tower built to oversee the whole thing. Over a hundred years ago Jonah Magnus performed his ritual and though it didn't succeed he gained his clairvoyance."

"So his ritual failed. Isn't he just waiting to try it again?"

"Quite possibly. But I worry it may be something worse."

"What was this ritual exactly?" Jon asks with a dry laugh. "Did he chant a bunch of spells? Wave a magic wand?"

"No, he subjected hundreds of inmates to decades of near constant scrutiny until the feeling of observation caused a buildup of dread so massive that it killed everyone within it."

"Good god."

Jurgen hums his agreement.

"A ritual centered around being seen," Jon says under his breath. He touches a hand to his throat absently, thinking of the collection of fading bruises that he has around his neck. Elias had cornered him in the Archive a couple days ago and kissed his neck until it was tender and Jon was squirming. The marks drew attention during his commute, and worse attention at work where people expected professionalism from him.

"Are you alright?" Jurgen asks.

"Hm?" Jon moves his hand away. For the first time in a while he badly wants a cigarette. "Ah, yes. Quite. I uh, think I need a minute however. To think."

"Yes, of course. This is a lot to take in. I can tell you more later of course and you can take your time researching it's validity."

"That'd probably be for the best." He stops the tape.

As he's heading toward the steps into the tunnels he hears Jurgen ask, "Are you really working against Elias?"

"I-I don't know if I'm for or against anything or if Elias is really planning something," he says uncomfortably. "I just need to know what's going on here. I need to understand."

"Ah. I suppose that answers my question well enough."

Jon sits on the steps leading into the Institute while he smokes. He's halfway through his cigarette when he realizes he's touching the marks Elias left on him again. He isn't debilitatingly shy or anything but he's a private person and isn't entirely sure how he feels about them. It'd certainly been exciting when Elias put them there.

Given what he’s heard the safe thing to do would be to end things now that he no longer suspects Elias is going to murder him. He should just slowly back away from their relationship, stop allowing himself to be seen investigating the Institute, and hope Elias buys it.

Goosebumps raise along his skin as he feels it again—the sensation of being watched. Jon looks around on instinct and finds Elias on the top of the stairs, looking down at him.

"Elias," Jon says. He puts his cigarette out on the step beside him and gets to his feet. "You're here."

Elias comes down the steps until they're standing side by side. He doesn't say anything but he kisses Jon, slowly and thoughtfully.

"Elias?" Jon asks.

"Try not to make a habit of that," Elias mumbles. His eyes are surprisingly dark for how short a time they've been kissing.

Before he can gather himself to say anything in response Elias lets him go, straightening out his sweater for him, and then leaving. Jon stands there, slightly stunned, before he remembers Leitner in the tunnels and his blood runs cold.

He returns to the tunnels as quickly as he can. Leitner is already dead.

Jon lights a second cigarette with trembling hands and stands over by the entrance to the tunnels while he smokes.

"Okay," Jon says, staring at the wall and trying to calm down. Jurgen had been shot several times and the noise hadn't carried outside of the tunnels. "Okay."

He has to call the police. Call them and tell them that he'd seen Elias leave the Institute right before he found the body and somehow convince them that he wasn't the murderer even though the key to the tunnels was in his pocket.

No, calling the police isn't the best option. For a while he just paces back and forth willing himself to think. Eventually it occurs to him that he could very well just lock the door behind him and pretend not to have seen anything. He only came down here to learn from Jurgen and since Jurgen is dead he has no more use for the tunnels.

No, Jon thinks. That would be... cruel. Jurgen was a human being and deserved better than that.

But when the body was found the police would check CCTV and see the footage of him and Elias outside the Institute. It would be his word against Elias's and while Jon was a godawful liar, Elias was completely calm mere minutes after killing a man.

Jon shudders.

He doesn't call the police.

Jurgen's body is deep enough within the tunnels. Jon locks the trapdoor behind him and goes home, radiating guilt and fear so badly that he's sure the people he walks past can see it written all over him. He tries to keep his head down and draw as little attention as possible.

Jon doesn't sleep well and when he wakes up in the morning he realizes that his fear has subsided very little and has been joined by a new sensation. Disappointment.

He wanted to hear more from Jurgen, even if he didn't believe all of it. He wanted to know what Jurgen believed and dig into everything he'd said. That his knowledge has been ripped right out from under him is irritating.

It's a cruel thing to feel. Inhuman, his mind suggests rather rudely. Still, he wishes that Jurgen had given him more.

He's finishing up a statement the next time he sees Elias. Elias knocks on the open door of the Archive, looking pleased when Jon startles.

"Um. End recording," Jon says. It's been less than 24 hours since Elias killed a man and then washed it down with a kiss. "Elias."

"You haven't asked me out again," Elias says, the bastard. "So I thought it wouldn't hurt to be the proactive one."

Jon has to laugh at that. "Yes, you'd struck me as positively passive."

"Exactly. So! Grab your coat. We're going to get lunch."

Elias doesn't comment on how haggard Jon looks but he does order him a coffee and then a second when Jon drains his first. He doesn't pretend to be curious about why Jon was outside the Institute the previous day and offers no excuse for why he was there either. He's sure Elias could come up with one if asked but doubts his ability to do the same. So he doesn't ask.

While they're eating Jon realizes that the balance has shifted within him again. His anger at losing a source of information now outweighs his fear.

Maybe Elias can tell that Jon's upset with him because he keeps things fairly quiet. It's just as well. Jon woke up late, didn't have time for breakfast, and didn't pack a lunch so he's much more interested in his food than forcing small talk with his boss.

Jurgen is dead, but Jon is still thinking about the tunnels.

He's not sure why: he can't imagine he'll be able to navigate them without Jurgen making them "more rational" and he's certain that this panopticon will be all but inaccessible. But he's still curious. And he wants to try.

He isn't looking forward to running into Jurgen's decomposing body and is surprised to find it isn't there when he gets down there. The tunnels look different though so he thinks it's fair to assume they've moved.

Jon leaves a trail of neat chalk lines behind him while he walks, hoping that they'll help somewhat. They certainly help him notice when he's somehow gone in a circle despite only going straight.

Some ways into the tunnels he finds a long, steep staircase. Along the walls near it is a chalk arrow pointing downwards.

"Okay," Jon says, "that's worrying."

It's frightening to see and probably means nothing good but the curiosity is still negging him. He can't leave it alone. He follows the arrow down the stairs.

The first arrow is proceeded by another when he reaches a tunnel and then another after that. He doesn't know how long he follows them but eventually the tunnel opens up into a massive chamber with a large tower in the middle.

"Fuck," Jon gasps.

There's a spiderweb around the door to the watchtower. For some reason the sight of it unsettles him, maybe because the tunnels have been shockingly free of spiderwebs so far.

At the top of the tower he finds a body. An old man's body, withered and grey but not skeletal the way it should be. His eyes are missing and his clothing resembles nothing from this century.

Jon looks around at the empty cells, clearly visible from atop the tower. It's dark but he's certain if it were brighter he'd be able to see every inch of them. There wouldn't be a single corner of it out of his view. The tunnels are still strange and uncomfortable, full of quiet noises that make him feel like there must be creatures lurking on the edge of his vision but from the watchtower he's sure that nothing that might live in the tunnels can see him.

"That's the point though, isn't it, Jonah?" he asks, leaning against one of the windows. "Not knowing exactly when they're being observed and when they aren't. The control you gain from watching in the shadows."

Jonah Magnus's empty eye sockets stare out at him.

"Holy fuck," he hears Tim say as soon as the trapdoor is lifted. The acoustics in the tunnels are indeed very strange and his voice carries well. "How the hell did he find this place?"

"He said he was specifically looking for it," Sasha says, sounding a little wary. Three sets of footsteps move down the stairs. "I'm not that surprised to see this place to be honest. It's _like_ the Institute to have spooky tunnels right underneath it."

"But why's he want us down here?" Tim asks in a bad stage whisper. His voice still carries. "Do you suppose he's gone off the deep end? Did he invite us all down here to kill us?"

"He-he wouldn't do that," Martin says. "Probably? He's probably not a murderer."

"Thank you for the bode of confidence " Jon says. He turns his face away as three flashlights shine directly at him. "Ow. Yes, come on I need to talk to the three of you."

Tim remains tense as Jon plays Gertrude's tape, likely still extremely suspicious of Jon's motivations. Sasha however looks very serious. Martin pales a little when Gertrude starts talking about setting the Institute on fire.

"Literally what the hell is that," Tim says. Jon shushes him and plays the second tape, the one of his interview with Jurgen.

"That guy's Jurgen Leitner?" Martin asks. "Like _the_ Jurgen Leitner? The one who died in a library fire like twenty years ago?"

"Clearly he didn't die in that fire, Martin," Jon says. "But yes. That was Jurgen."

"Or," Tim says, "it was a crazy old man who lives in the tunnels."

"He was that too. But he was also probably Jurgen Leitner."

"I'm sorry, was?" Martin asks.

"I strongly suspect that Elias killed him."

The silence that follows is tense.

"Uh-huh," Tim says eventually.

"I think it's all true," Sasha says. Tim and Martin look at her in surprise. "I've seen strange things since I started working here. Felt them too. Those eyes Jurgen mentioned."

"Seriously, Sasha?" Tim asks.

"And Gertrude...I don't know. The mess in the Archive never really seemed to mesh with who she was as a person. I know I called her harmless, Jon, but she scared the shit out of me sometimes. Her god-fighting second life actually suits her much more than the harmless old lady thing."

"She was tiny and mostly cardigan," Tim says.

"Come on, Tim. You've seen it too, haven't you? And you experienced them before. The thing with your brother..."

"What thing with your brother?" Jon asks, curiosity peaked.

Tim, surprisingly, gives a very detailed account of his brother's death at the hand of some bizarre clown like entity. When he's done he seems a little off-put by his own willingness to talk about it.

"Okay," Tim says afterwards, "so maybe some of the things the arsonist boomers were talking about are real. But what do we do about this?"

"To be blunt," Jon says, "I have absolutely no idea what to do and thought it likely that you two," he nods towards Tim and Sasha, "might be able to corroborate more of this."

Tim shrugs. "I've seen one monster, Sasha's seen some weird artifacts. Martin? Any Tales From the Crypt?"

"Uh, no," Martin says.

There's another uncomfortable silence.

"Elias is tied to these 'dread powers'?" Tim asks. "These things that feed on fear and killed my brother?"

Jon nods. "To one of them at least."

"And he killed a bunch of people in service of his fear god?"

"Possibly, yes."

"And he might do it again?"

"Jurgen and Gertrude seemed to think so."

"And his body is deeper in the tunnels with a big arrow leading towards it?"

"Yes."

Tim clicks his tongue. "Cool." He raises a hand. "All in favor of murdering old man Magnus before he can end the world?"

"Wait, what?" Martin says.

"Ah," says Jon. He's not entirely surprised by that response.

"What do you mean 'what'? These forces are the literal embodiment of evil and this place is a temple of fear. Personally, I think saving the world is generally a good thing."

"We-we don't have any actual proof that he's going to bring about the apocalypse," Jon says.

"Apart from the fact that he's tried to in the past? Besides, even if he isn't bringing about the fucking end of days, he's still been body-hopping through his employees for a hundred years and has us all imprisoned so we serve his god forever. I think the murder route is perfectly reasonable at this point."

Jon sighs. "Sasha?"

Sasha nods slowly. "Not a huge fan of murder but Tim is making a solid case."

He turns to Martin who still looks vaguely shell-shocked. "Um," Martin says. "What if we're wrong about all this?"

"Then the worst we'll have done is desecrated a freakishly well-preserved corpse down in a tunnel that no one ever visits," Jon says.

"I...can probably live with that," Martin says.

"Great, let's do it," Tim says. "Let's go take an axe to the evil Victorian bastard."

"Evil Georgian bastard," Jon mumbles. "That's not important. We probably shouldn't charge off into the tunnels without any supplies. It's extremely easy to get lost in here. Also you'll need an um..."

"Murder weapon?" Tim asks.

"Yes. That."

"What about Elias?" Sasha asks. She checks her watch. "He'll probably wrap up his meeting with the Lukas family soon so if he's all-seeing he'll notice the four of us are missing. And he'll definitely be suspicious if we all head for the tunnels tomorrow."

"Maybe we can sneak in at night?" Martin suggests.

"No," Jon says, shaking his head. "I strongly suspect he checks in on us after work hours." Or at least me, he thinks.

"Lovely," Tim says, "yet another reason to murder him.”

"We'll have to distract him if we want him not to notice us," Jon says.

"Maybe Martin can accidentally misfile his paperwork again," Sasha says. "That lecture will probably give us at least an hour."

"I really don't want to do that," Martin says.

"I can figure it out," Jon says, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I'll distract him. Don't worry about it."

Tim and Martin agree to that somewhat readily but Sasha gives him a worried look.

"It'll be fine," he says to her. She doesn't bring up what she knows about their relationship and Jon is very glad for it.

They agree to put their plan into action around the end of the following day. Jon doesn't explain why but Tim and Martin don't have any particular reason to think about what Jon's planning to do. The next day at four he stops by Sasha's desk on the way to Elias's office.

"Give me two minutes before you go get Tim and Martin," he says, arms crossed over his chest.

"I will." Sasha gives his shoulder a firm squeeze. "I do hope you know what you're doing."

Jon shrugs. "I may not be your typical sexy librarian but I'm sure I'll manage."

Sasha lets out a startled laugh. "Oh my god, I don't want to hear _you_ say things like that. Shoo!"

"I'll see you later," he says with a small smile.

He doesn't let himself hesitate at Elias's door. He knocks as soon as he gets there and desperately hopes the corridor is as empty as it looks.

"Yes, come in," Elias says. When Jon enters he's writing something down in his calendar. He casts a quick glance at Jon and then continues where he left off. "Can I help you Jon?"

Jon shuts the door behind him, not quite meeting Elias's eyes. He leans against it, hands behind his back, and swallows. "You suggested I knock next time I need something from you."

"Yes?" Elias says, still writing out another note.

Jon drags his eyes away from the floor to look at Elias. It takes a few seconds before Elias looks up from his calendar. He lowers his pen.

"My my, Jon," he says, a slow smile spreading across his face. "This _is_ an escalation."

Jon shrugs, not trusting himself to be able to say anything properly enticing. For a while Elias just looks at him, which hardly seems necessary given how much he stares on a good day. He tilts his head appraisingly.

"Alright," Elias says. His chair scrapes abrasively against the floor as he gets up. "Yes, why not?"

"Can we—" Jon starts to say but Elias closes the distance between them and is kissing him before he can finish. The door rattles as Elias pushes him up against it and Jon flinches at the noise. He's working a hand under Jon's sweater in short order and Jon nearly has to shove him away so he can speak again. "Can-can we get out of here?"

"In the middle of the workday?" Elias asks with quiet humor. He nips at one of the bruises on Jon's neck and Jon jumps. "Perish the thought."

That would certainly complicate things and shorten the amount of Elias's time he'd be eating into. "You don't um, want me on a bed?" he asks. He doesn't sound seductive to his own ears but given that Elias seems to want him anyway maybe that doesn't matter.

Elias pulls him forward, a leg slotting between both of Jon's. "Perhaps next time. I'm afraid today still looks terribly busy on my end."

There's glass on the door to Elias's office. It's not quite opaque enough to perfectly see through but with the two of them pressed against it their shapes must be unmistakable. He's wondering if a noise he hears is a door opening down the hall when Elias drags his sweater over his head and gets to work unbuttoning his shirt.

"Can we um, move?" Jon asks warily. Elias makes a noise of agreement against his neck where he's been pressing rough kisses and drags him forward so quickly that Jon nearly stumbles. He pushes Jon up against the edge of his desk.

"Jesus, Elias. We're in your office."

Elias nearly yanks the bottom button off his shirt as he unbuttons it. "You're the one who marched in here when I'm trying to plan my week talking about your _needs_ , Jon. I'm not made of stone."

"Yes, but I thought you were—I don't know—sensible. What if someone overhears us? Or sees us?"

Elias doesn't respond at first, continuing to lay kisses down Jon's neck and chest. Once Jon is thoroughly distracted however, he says, "luckily the previous head of the Institute invested in soundproofing."

So you could fuck people in your office? Jon thinks. Elias shifts a hand to grope at Jon's cock through his pants and Jon bites the inside of his cheek to keep any noises in check.

"Not that I'd object to the entire floor hearing what kind of noises you make when you're being fucked over your boss’s desk," Elias says.

"Shit," Jon whines. "I'd have some objections."

"Pity. But then I do think the onus is on you not to embarrass yourself."

Jon shudders. He's been told in the past that he's fairly quiet during sex but there are other logistical issues to consider. For one, he doesn't remember either of them locking the door. God, he hopes Elias's assistants knew how to knock.

Elias kisses the tense line of his mouth. "You'll really have to get over your stage fright, Jon."

"I don't have—" Elias's hand finds its way into his boxers and Jon gasps, arms nearly going out from under him. He's half hard just from the way Elias has been touching and kissing him. "I don't have-have stage fright. I'm just...not keen on being watched like this."

"And what's so bad about being seen?" He pets Jon's hair soothingly for a moment like he's trying to calm an animal before he returns to undressing him, hands eager. "Those of us who grew up in theistic households should be used to the thought of being watched and judged. You'd think as a society we'd hold voyeurism in higher regard."

As he's saying this, Elias is prying off his shoes and tugging his pants off. Jon has to awkwardly shimmy onto the desk to keep up.

"That's all well and good but I'm talking about the literal problem of one of your assistants walking in on us having sex!" Jon hisses.

"Yes, that'd be terrible, wouldn't it?" Elias says calmly. "Someone _knowing_ what you look like naked." He helps Jon lift his hips so he can get his boxers off. "Knowing that you sleep with men. That you'd let your boss fuck you. That you'd do it in public even, and in the middle of the day." Elias's hands roam up his legs. "That you have a very charming mole on your upper thigh and an old scar on your knee that you must've gotten in childhood."

He shudders under Elias's observation, wanting to put his clothes back on or at least turn off the lights. He never really noticed how bright it is in Elias's office. There's hardly a single unlit shadow where the unknown can hide.

Jon's thighs clench around Elias’s middle as he tries to shrink in on himself.

"Does the thought of being known frighten you?" Elias asks. He kisses Jon's neck again and wraps a hand around his half hard cock. "Does it excite you?" He bites down just a bit, higher than the other marks, too high to be hidden by his collar. "Or is it both?"

"I-I," Jon stutters, head swimming. He has no idea what the answer to that question is and Elias patiently stroking him isn't making it easier to get his thoughts in order.

"It's a little of both in my case." Elias tugs him over to the other side of his desk, paying no attention to the expense report being wrinkled underneath Jon's ass.

Elias pulls something from his desk and Jon is momentarily distracted from his unease by the lube he's holding. "Why the hell do you have that in your desk?"

"Foresight," Elias says with a smile.

Elias works a finger into him easily, a little quickly for how long it's been but not so fast that he has any objections. It's as he adds a second that Jon hears footsteps outside the office and goes rigid, hand tight on Elias's blazer.

Elias slows his movement and joins him in staring at the door, though he's clearly doing it with anticipation instead of fear. As a shadow moves past, he presses both fingers deeper into Jon's ass and Jon nearly falls over trying to get a hand over his mouth. Elias chuckles quietly as the footsteps move past his office.

The third finger enters him with a bit more strain. It's been a while since he's done this and he isn't exactly composed. He wonders how far Tim, Sasha and Martin have gotten. If this will be enough time for them.

"You know Jon." Elias tugs his fingers free. He's spent significantly less time on that round of stretching. "If you're going to come to my office to seduce me I'd really prefer if you'd focus on me."

Jon's mind goes blank. He's been looking at Elias even if his thoughts have been elsewhere so there was no way Elias could've been able to tell that his thoughts were on other things.

Not unless his "foresight" allowed him to read people's minds.

Panic tightens Jon's chest as that last thought hits him. He thinks of Elias perfectly guessing what he'd wished for on his birthday and his presence at the Institute when Jon had come in on the weekend. Why wouldn't the god of voyeurism be able to see into his thoughts?

But that couldn't be the case because if he _did_ have the ability to read minds he'd know that Jon suspected him of being Jonah Magnus. That he and his assistants had planned all this yesterday and that he'd come to Elias like this to distract him.

"Do try to relax, Jon," Elias says, either blind to his racing thoughts or indifferent to them and Jon is surprised to find himself holding back a genuine surge of anger.

He doesn't relax but he does glare back at Elias, wrapping his legs around him and drawing him closer. He feels like an idiot and he feels like kicking Elias's teeth in but he can't act on the latter. He pulls Elias in by the collar of his shirt, kisses him and then bites him non-to gently. Elias doesn't seem bothered by the forceful turn off events, judging by his amused hum of laughter.

In response he grabs Jon's thighs, lifting him into position and pushes in with a soft grunt. It's forceful enough to pull a gasp from Jon but not bad enough for him to tell Elias to stop.

Elias's gaze is half-lidded and smug. "Why Jon, you look upset. I haven't hurt you, have I?"

Jon clenches down around the hard length inside him and they both make quiet noises. His is just as pleasured as Elias's.

"No," Jon says, voice quiet and strained, "you haven't."

"Oh, good." And Elias thrusts in significantly further which does hurt but Jon can't really care. "I'll help myself then."

And he does. Elias's desk is a sturdy old thing that hardly creeks as Elias fucks him into it. Once the initial pain fades it becomes quite clear that Elias knows what he's doing. He finds Jon's prostate in short order and makes sure he's brushing against it.

Jon has the wherewithal to think that's a gross misuse of his mind reading abilities but can't voice the thought. He chooses to assume Elias hears it.

While he's being fucked, while he's trying to brace himself on antique oak and keep quiet and avoid thinking about his assistants, an uncomfortable sense of dread prickles in the corner of his mind. Behind his closed eyes he can see them in their untold dozens: hanging over him, peaking in through the door, peering out from the old paintings on Elias's wall, and watching him from the small window well above their heads. Too many for him to count in every conceivable color, natural and unnatural. They know him. They saw the shiver of anticipated delight that went through him before he knocked on Elias's door earlier. They know the awe that he felt at the sight of Jonah's terrible monument to power and fear. They know that he doesn't really want Tim to succeed in killing Jonah Magnus because he wants Elias alive and Known.

Jon's eyes snap open and the transition from dark observation to ordinary office space makes him dizzy. The only visible eyes watching him are Elias's but he knows he's still being observed. Elias's god— _their_ god can still see them, and Jon knows now that caring about an intern walking in on them is pointless when the Eye can see them down to their marrow.

Elias slows his pace slightly, rolling into him more leisurely. He presses a hand to Jon’s cheek with something that might be affection. And though his eyes are dark and hungry Jon isn't afraid of them. Or at least not _only_ afraid.

Neither of them speak. He comes easily when Elias deigns to touch his cock again, surprisingly gentle and meeting his gaze.

By the time Elias comes, post-orgasm exhaustion is setting in. His legs are hanging loose around Elias's waist and he's sure he could fall asleep on the spot if there weren't a hole puncher under his head. Elias isn't exactly loud when he comes but his satisfied groan is loud enough to give Jon some faith in the soundproofing.

While Elias detangles himself from Jon's grip, Jon lies boneless across the desk, eyes shut. In the relative quiet of his and Elias's breathing he catches a familiar and deeply unwelcome sound.

"Elias," he says, staring at the tape recorder on the other side of his desk. Elias hums like he's surprised.

"Oh dear, how long has that been on?" he asks. He switches it off and pops out the tape. Jon reaches for it immediately but Elias pulls it out of his reach. "No need to worry, I won't leave it lying around."

"I think I'd prefer to get rid of it," Jon says. From the pain in his ass when he sits up he thinks sitting tomorrow will be miserable.

"I'm sure you would." He gives Jon a quick, placating kiss and then begins fixing his hair and his clothes. He opens the window too.

"No offense, but it does smell like someone's been getting fucked in here," Elias says, putting his desk in order. He passes Jon his clothing along with some wipes from a drawer and then takes a seat at his desk. Jon is about to ask what he's doing when there's a knock at the door.

Jon stares at him, wide-eyed. Elias smirks briefly before schooling his face into complete neutrality and saying, without hesitation, "come in."

Jon curses and then dives behind the desk, still mostly undressed but with all his clothes in his arms. He was right, the door hadn't been unlocked. And Elias had known.

"Hey Elias," Rosie says. Her footsteps approach the desk. "Can you sign off on the damaged artifact?"

"Of course." Elias gently nudges Jon's head out of the way so he can retrieve a pen from the drawer behind him. Jon knows he has pens on his desk and considers biting his hand.

"Do we know what happened to it?" Elias asks casually. Jon hears the scratch of his signature.

"Not a clue. We just found the table broken open this morning."

Jon looks up at Elias, trying to push his outrage and embarrassment aside so he can think.

"How odd. Did you need anything else?"

"Nope, that should do it. Thanks."

He hears Rosie leave and the door shuts.

Elias chuckles. "Sorry about that. I heard her footsteps coming and—"

"Which artifact was damaged?" Jon asks.

"Hm? The spiderweb table. Why do you ask?"

"The one that was delivered to me?" Jon asks with a frown. "We don't know what happened to it?"

"Afraid not," Elias says. He realizes at that point that Elias is staring down at him fondly and that he's still wearing nothing but his unbuttoned shirt. He pulls it together with an annoyed huff and starts buttoning it.

"For the record, you're a bastard," Jon says, standing up so he can continue dressing.

"That seemed to bother you less when you walked in here," Elias says. He returns his attention to his calendar, writing out a note in it as if he wasn't interrupted at all. Jon gets himself dressed and hopes it isn’t obvious to everyone what he’s been doing.

"Don't forget your tape."

"Ah, yes." Jon takes the tape. A strange desire to leave it with Elias hits him but he ignores it.

It isn't until he's halfway to the Archive that he stops in his tracks, remembering that he didn't go to Elias's office to get fucked while a concept ogled them, he went to distract Elias for as long as possible. For the first time since his vision, epiphany, what have you, he remembers Tim, Sasha and Martin.

Given that Elias didn't die at any point he isn't surprised to find that his assistants failed. He finds a stone-faced Tim in the Archive when he gets there, looking shaken and exhausted.

"Ah, the man of the fucking hour," he says as soon as he sees Jon. “Did you know that thing was down there?!"

Jon slows to a stop. "What thing?"

"That thing, that monster! We didn't see any arrows and that _whatever_ was down there. We got separated and it-it attacked Sasha. Scared the ever-loving shit out of me and Martin. We didn't stick around I just picked her up and we ran."

"Maybe the arrows were for me specifically," Jon says. "Something that didn't want anyone else finding Magnus..."

Tim's face tightens. "Thank you for asking, Sasha's fine."

"I—no, I was going to—I just assumed you'd have said otherwise if she'd been hurt. How is she?"

"She fainted down there and still seems rattled so Martin is helping her get home."

"Good. That's-that's good. What did it look like?" Jon asks. "The creature?"

"Tall, thin, and fucking evil." Tim laughs. "You truly wouldn't have given a shit if it'd killed us, huh?”

"What? No—"

"Forget it," Tim says. "You know what happened now. I'm going to go home and I'm getting very drunk."

He isn't sure if it's the failed murder attempt or the sex the previous day, but Elias seems unusually enthusiastic during the Institute's first of the month meeting. Jon might be imagining it though. Elias did love putting them through boring, useless meetings.

When the meeting is over Elias strolls over to where he is. He smiles at Sasha who's sitting right beside Jon.

"Sasha," Elias says brightly, "you're looking very well. I heard you fainted yesterday."

"Ah, yes nothing to worry about," Sasha says right back, sounding chipper and genuinely glad to see him. She tucks her short hair behind her ear. The rest of the staff are filing out of the room and a steady buzz of chatter picks up. "I'm back to my old self."

"That's wonderful." He nods at Jon. "Jon? A moment if you please."

Jon tugs his chair in so Sasha can get past him. "Yes, what is it?" he asks, already thinking about the statement on his desk.

Elias sits on the edge of the conference room table and places a hand on top of Jon's with unmistakable intent. "Do you have any lunch plans?" he asks, not lowering his voice.

The room is still mostly full. Sasha has hardly moved and he saw Martin and Tim slow down by the door when Elias called out to Sasha. He's too stunned to look away from Elias's face but he can feel dozens of eyes on him, dozens observing him and drinking in his embarrassment and knowing this new aspect of him that he hasn't shown them before. He's sure he can feel Tim's judgement, Martin's vague sense of betrayal, conclusions being drawn by others who have wondered about the marks on his neck. There are pieces of himself being taken in by unsympathetic observers against his will and he feels naked before them.

He isn't particularly listening as Elias invites him out. He's looking at Elias's smiling face and knows that he can feel it too. That he's basking in the joy of being seen.

It worries Jon that a part of him is basking too.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! check out my [twitter](http://twitter.com/statuscrows) too if you want 😎


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